Aston Martin DB2/4

Aston Martin DB2/4 at a glance

The DB2/4 sits between the DB2 and the DB4 era in the DB line; a coachbuilt example is described in our article on the DB2/4 Touring Spyder. All models are in the Aston Martin catalogue.

History: from DB2 to DB2/4

The DB2/4 was based on the DB2, which it replaced in 1953. The designer is usually given as Frank Feeley, although Wikipedia marks this attribution as needing a source. The aim was to make the DB2 more practical: the car gained two small rear seats and an opening tailgate that gave access to the luggage area — in effect a hatchback.

The first cars used the 2.6-litre engine of the DB2 Vantage. In September 1953 the saloon received a larger 2.9-litre version, and the drophead coupé followed in April 1954. A total of 565 Mark I cars were built, 102 of them drophead coupés. The revised Mark II arrived in 1955, and 199 were made before the model gave way to the DB Mark III.

Design and body styles

Compared with the DB2, the DB2/4 has a one-piece windscreen, larger bumpers and headlights placed in a different position. The rear seats are small, but together with the tailgate they made the car much more usable for travel.

Three body styles were offered:

• 2+2 saloon with the opening rear hatch;
• drophead coupé with a folding roof;
• two-seat fixed-head coupé, added with the Mark II (34 built).

The car is 4,305 mm long, 1,651 mm wide and 1,359 mm high, on a 2,515 mm wheelbase. A Mark I drophead coupé appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds in 1963.

The Lagonda straight-six

The engine is the Lagonda straight-six designed under W. O. Bentley.

With the 2.9-litre engine the claimed top speed rose to 193 km/h. When The Motor tested a 2.9-litre car in 1954, it recorded 190.7 km/h and fuel consumption of 12.3 l/100 km.

Mark II and special bodies

The Mark II of 1955 can be recognised by small tail fins, bubble-shaped tail lights, extra chrome and a different split line on the bonnet. A large-valve engine with 123 kW (165 hp) was available. Production of the bodies moved from Mulliner's in Feltham to Tickford in Newport Pagnell, a coachbuilder David Brown had bought in 1954; later all Aston Martin production moved there with the DB4.

Several Italian coachbuilders built special bodies on the DB2/4:

• Carrozzeria Touring bodied three Mark II chassis as spiders. Touring later supplied the Superleggera design for the DB4.
• The American businessman Stanley H. Arnolt II ordered a small number of Bertone-bodied spiders and one coupé in 1954.
• Giovanni Michelotti designed a drophead coupé built by Bertone.

The works team prepared three cars for the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally and two for the Mille Miglia.

Legacy

The DB2/4 made the sporting Aston Martin more practical, with rear seats and a tailgate, while the 2.9-litre engine kept its performance. It also connected the early David Brown cars with the later DB4 through the move to Tickford in Newport Pagnell and the first contact with Touring. For the brand's story, see our history of Aston Martin.